Chapter 27: Baby, It’s Cold Outside…

I waved at Don as he drove very carefully off and closed the door with his words of “Don’t screw it up!” echoing in my head. “Well,” I thought, “one way of screwing it up is to leave a lady guest waiting…”

I walked back to the living room and she wasn’t there. As I was about to go searching for her, she came around the corner from the direction of my office. “Sorry, I needed to use the washroom,” she said as she rounded the corner. “I hope you don’t mind but I also looked at the selection of books and other items in your library. An interesting and rather eclectic selection. You can tell a lot about a person by what books they choose to keep.”

I smiled at her and said, “Well, what do my books tell you about me?”

“That we have similar yet different tastes. You tend towards the ‘life sciences’ — biology, biochemistry, biomechanics and medicine naturally. Yet they are not tied to one particular ‘dogma’, for lack of a better term. They cover all aspects and opinions. Interested in Asian art and medical practices as illustrated by the Buddhas and the medicine boxes – mostly Chinese and Indian. The Latin and Greek dictionaries are no surprise considering your occupation – they are well worn, you probably bought them while at Oxford. Some books on architecture and mechanical engineering, indicating a precise mind. A new book, Birds of North America, which I am going to assume was a gift from your son from what you have told me about him.

“A lot of clock repair manuals so I would assume that is a hobby – that fits in with a surgeon’s personality. Minute repairs of complex devices with many small parts. I bet that clock repair is a good ‘exercise’ for surgical skills. There is also a good selection of histories and biographies concentrated on western history and British history in particular. Some books on art, most of which I am going to guess you picked up at art exhibitions at various London galleries when you lived there. Judging by those books, I am going to guess that you are not a great fan of most modern art. Very little fiction but what there is of it is good fiction. You get 10 bonus points for having all the works of Tolkien – I love Tolkien! I was surprised by seeing copies of A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Stand. Both tie in with the other books — Leibowitz ties in with the mechanical, The Stand with the biological. I love The Stand….”

I looked at her and smiled. “Well, what would the books and items in your library tell me about you?”

She laughed and said, “Be afraid….be very afraid!”

I tossed another log on the fire and said, “Come on, tell me!” She looked at me and asked, “Is it OK if I take my shoes off? I don’t want to get your furniture dirty.”

“Sure, be my guest!”

She took her shoes off and tucked her feet up under herself.

“OK. In my library you would see many books on ‘physical science’ – geology, geography, paleontology, oceanology, meteorology, astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, chemistry and plain ol’ physics. The geological books tend towards works on ‘Deep Time’ and plate tectonics which tie in with paleontology. My books on aviation, navigation, etc are connected with my work, naturally. An interesting collection of atlases and maps.

“You will find all the works of Tolkien including a framed poster for the exhibition of his artwork for his books that was held at the Bodleian Library back in the 1980’s. A bit more fiction in general but almost all of it historically based and what I would call ‘semi-fiction’. They have fictional characters set in real historical settings. Shogun, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance – that kind of thing. No ‘girly’ romance novels, though I do have some science fiction including A Canticle for Leibowitz.

“A lot of cookbooks of all types and cuisines. A lot of books on sports – sailing, ice hockey, backcountry camping and skiing. Survival guides, which in my line of work can come in handy. Books on the high latitudes and exploration. A lot of history books, including all 25 volumes of The Oxford History of the World that belonged to my grandfather. The rest are mostly concentrated on ancient Egyptian and ancient Roman history with some Sumerian tossed into the mix. A couple biographies on Augustus including a copy of Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Copies of ancient works like The Histories by Herodotus, Agricola by Tacitus, The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius and The Canterbury Tales in middle English by Chaucer. “Books on art, some from exhibitions I have seen and the rest on Ukiyo-e. You collect mostly Chinese and Indian, I collect Japanese. I have a few works of Ukiyo-e hanging on the walls, mostly from the shin-hanga movement. Hasui, Koitsu, Shotei… I have two rare prints that I spent a lot of money on – “Night Snow at Nezu Shrine, Tokyo” by Koitsu and “Yakuo Temple, Mito” by Hasui. Oh, and my high school yearbooks which you will never see. NEVER!” She smiled and said, “So, what does that tell you about me?”

“WOW!” I thought to myself. Logical. Highly intelligent with a scientific bent and, I thought as I looked at her, appealing physically. This is a woman that I don’t think I would ever be bored with. She could teach me a thing or two and I find that rare in anyone.

“You are right, we have similar yet different tastes which makes for interesting conversation. One question I do have to ask is why didn’t you use your degrees in geology and paleontology and go into academics?” She laughed and replied, “I’d be bored stiff sitting at some university teaching! Besides, I’ve never been good at ‘office politics’ – I am too headstrong and opinionated to play those games well. Being a pilot is interesting work that takes me around the world, gives me great freedom and it pays a hell of a lot better. Skua gotta eat, too!”

“Speaking of eating, I should get dinner started. What would you like?”

She replied, “What have you got?”

I stood up and said, “Let’s go look, shall we?”

“Sounds like a plan. Lead on!” and followed me into the kitchen.

We rummaged through the kitchen and decided on grilled lamb chops, rosemary garlic roasted baby potatoes, petit pois a la bonne femme and a salad of romaine and wild field greens with vinaigrette. I made the lamb chops and salad, she made the potatoes and peas, and I cut up ‘The Pineapple of Doom’, as she called it, for dessert. We worked well in the kitchen together. She set the table while I put the side dishes in bowls and plated up the chops. I asked her what she wanted to drink and hoped it wouldn’t be wine. I didn’t want to fall asleep!

Thankfully, she said, “Ice water will do splendidly, thank you. Most wine gives me a really nasty headache, especially French wine.”

While we ate, we talked about a variety of subjects. I complemented her on the potatoes and the peas; she complemented me on the lamb chops and salad. We laughed as we ate the pineapple – if it weren’t for that pineapple we would have never met. When we finished, we cleared the table, cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen. I thought to myself, ‘This all feels so natural being with her, there is no tension, no apprehension – it’s like we have been doing this for years.’ By the time we finished up, it was about 10pm so we went and sat in front of the fire and turned on the TV to watch the news. It was all bad – all the freeways were shut down and so were the major side streets. The airports were closed last night and remained closed. The Mayor was advising no travel except on an emergency basis. Thousands were without electricity. Trees were buckling under the weight of the ice and falling on houses. The weatherman said the storm would be done by late Sunday morning. I worried that she might not be able to get home, then I worried that she might.

When the sports came on, I asked if she wanted to continue to watch the TV. She said, “No. You haven’t given me a tour of your house yet. All I have seen is the living room, office and kitchen.” I replied, “We sort of forgot to do that, didn’t we? Follow me!” and headed for the stairs. We didn’t get past the master bedroom…